Circular route of the Bois de la Duchesse

Start from Bourogne, 10 km south of Belfort (accessible via the A36 and the RN19). Park in the town hall car park.
This route is marked with a Blue Ring

(S/E) Walk down Rue des Écoles and continue straight on into Rue Haute. Look out for the stork’s nest. Pass the wash house fountain and then turn right onto Rue Basse. At the first three-way junction, turn right and you will immediately come to a second three-way junction.

(1) Then turn right and walk past the second wash house. Turn left onto Rue Bernardot. Continue along this street and pass another wash house. At the next Fork in the road, keep right, go under a power line and leave the village.

(2) Cross the Bosquet de la Baie, ignoring a path branching off to the left. As you leave the copse, at a Fork in the road, turn right. Continue straight on, leaving a small road on your right. Initially tarmac, then gravel (for 600m), the route turns into a forest track with deep ruts. Descend slightly and you will soon reach the departmental border with the Doubs.

(3) Follow the path to the left for 100m to reach the Sentier des Bornes. Just under a kilometre further on, you’ll reach the junction of several forest tracks: this is the Trois Bornes crossroads in the Principality of Montbéliard.

(4) Continue along the Sentier des Bornes to the left (east). Some 500m further on, the path crosses the track linking Bourogne and Allenjoie: continue straight ahead. At a Fork in the road, turn right and head down to the banks of the Bourbeuse.

(5) Turn 45° to the left then head back up along the Bourbeuse. Pass the petrifying spring and arrive in Bourogne via Rue Sous la Côte.

(1) Turn right and, following the same route as on the way out, return to the town hall car park (S/E).

Set off from Bourogne, 10 km south of Belfort, via the A36 and the RN19
Parking is available next to the wash house behind the town hall on Rue des Ecoles.

The Chateau’s wash house fountains
This fountain had multiple uses: one section was reserved for human consumption, another for livestock with a drinking trough, and finally a wash house and rinsing area completed the complex. All these sections were carefully separated at the time to prevent the spread of disease and epidemics. Another fountain-wash house, that of the Corps de Garde, served the same purposes.

The boundary stones.
From 1042 to 1793, the town of Montbéliard was part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1495, the Count of Württemberg was elevated to the rank of Duke by Emperor Maximilian I. It was henceforth known as the “Principality of Montbéliard”. Throughout this route, you can discover the boundary stones that bear witness to the upheavals in this region.

The petrifying spring
Petrifying waters are springs very rich in carbon dioxide and calcium carbonate. Upon reaching the open air, they lose their carbon dioxide and partially deposit the dissolved carbonate. In days gone by, the village children used to amuse themselves by exposing various objects to these waters for a few days, only to find them encrusted in a layer of calcite.

A dry orchid meadow.
These are rare and fragile habitats; their poor, dry soils have led to their abandonment by agriculture. Their conservation requires a return to pastoral management. It is a particularly rich site, home to, amongst others, seven species of orchids; it is the only site in Franche-Comté where Aster amelle can be found, and you can also see the superb martagon lily there.